Thick-butt shingle strip



y 6, 1930. F. c. ovERBuRY 1,756,989

THICK BUTT SHINGLE STRIP Filed April 10, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l kgw @Q mPM I -I -I=1 Q M m Q May 6, 1930. F. c. OVERBURY 1,756,989

THICK BUTT SHINGLE STRIP Filed April 10, 1926 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Ifluwzjar: fiaiwjai 601/60" I d2 ya.

weather.

Patented May 6, 1930 UNITED STATES.

FREDERICK G. OVERBUBY, OF HILLSDALE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB, BY MESNE ASPATENT oer-lea SIGNMENTS, TO THE PATEKT AND LICENSING CORPORATION, OFBOSTON, IASBA- CHUSETTB, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS THICK-BUTTSHINGLE STRIP Application filed April 10,

This invention relates generally to fabricated roofing elements whichare intended to be laid in overlapping Courses on a roof, exposingaportion of each element to the The base or foundation for material ofthis type ordinarily comprises felted fibrous sheet material, which isusually formed on a paper-making machine, of rag or asbestos fiber orthe like. These fibrous sheets are sufficiently absorbent to be readilyimpregnated with liquid bitumen or equivalent saturant after which asuitable coating of impervious material, such as high melting-pointasphalt, is applied to one or both faces of the saturated sheet, thecoated areas while still sticky being surfaced with sand, crushed slate,tile or other mineral matter in granular or powdered form. Individualelements are then cut or otherwise separated from the sheet in anydesired shape and size. Roofing elements of this type are well known tothe art, but have been found objectionable on account of their flat andunsubstantial appearance when laid on a roof, also because the fiberends exposed at the cut edges when the elements were cut from the sheettend to absorb and give off moisture, the changes in moisture contentwarping and deteriorating the elements. It is therefore an object ofthis invention to ive the elements a more substantial and p easingappearance when laid by increasing the thickness of the element at thebutt edge. In order that the successive courses of elements as laid on.a roof may fit more snugly one on the other, I provide means for makingroofing elements with butts which are materially thicker than the heads,the thick portions of the shingles being tapered toward the head.Another object of the invention is to form the thick tapered butts byapplying material to the sheet in separate areas before the sheet iscut. The areas maywbe so arranged that the sheet may be out eithertransversely or longitudinally to form strip shingles or individualshingles. The thickened butt adds to the appearance of the roof whenlaid, provides additional weight where needed to keep the shingle lyingflat against those beneath it, tends to prevent curling .of the tabs,and economizes on ma- 1926. Serial No. 101,090.

terial by reason of the comparatively thin head.

It is also an object of this invention to make the roofing strip in sucha way that one side will be finished to present the appearance desiredwhen the roof is laid, while the opposite side will carry the extralayer of coating material to thicken the butt portion s of the strip.This permits the use of an ex-.

ceptionally thick butt-thickening. coat of thermoplastic compounds, suchas asphalt. without detracting from the appearance or durability of theroofing element. The thickness of coating which cansuccessfully beapplied in one operation is governed by the thickness of consiste.-cy orthe viscosity of the coating material when applied. In carrying out onemethod of my invention, I applya thick tarry layer of asphalt to thebutt portion. While a thicker coating may be applied with the asphalt ina semi-fluid rather than a fluid condition, it is more diflicult to makethe surfacing granular material stick firmly to such a coating so as toform a satisfactory tions, the action of sunlight rays beingparticularly noticeable. If the coating is too thin, the hardeningaction extends all the way through and soon forms cracks which allowmoisture to enter. On the other hand, if the coating is too thick, thecontraction of the surface sets up stresses in the layer, particularlywhen it is cold and hard, which tend to cause cracks in the coatingwhich extend through to the fibrous layer of the shingle. Between theseextremes is a thickness of coating which gives best results in resistingthe action of the Weather. In the case of the blown asphalt customarilyused in coating elements of this type, the most desirable thickness isfrom .040 to .070 of an inch. It is obvious that the most serviceableasphaltthickened shingle is to be had by coating the upper or exposedface of the shingle with a layer of asphalt of this. thickness, theheavy reinforcing layer being applied to the under side where it willnot be exposed to the weather. A further advantage to be obtained fromputting a heavy coating of asphalt on the under side of a shingle striprather than on the upper arises from the tendency of the asphalt tobecome more or less fluent according to its characterist under the heatof a summer sun. Vthile such fluency is slight even in midsummer, thesurface of a thick layer of asphalt liable to slip, especially whenweighted with grit, when laid on a roof with a steep pitch, Thistendency of thick coating to flow under extreme summer. heat is avoidedby having the thick coating ments to which the butt-thickening coat isapplied to the rear face in such a way that it extends over the buttedge and the edges of any slots which may have been formed or cut in thebutt portion of the element and merges with the front face coating toform a complete sealing coat covering the butt portion of the element.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 represents a diagrammatic arrangement of apparatus for carryingout my invention.

Figure 2 represents in perspective a pair of rolls for applyingtransverse bands of coating material.

Figure'3 shows a fragment of a sheet coated for transverse cutting.

' Figure 4 represents in perspective a set of rolls for applyinglongitudinal stripes of coating material.

Figure 5 shows a fragment of a sheet after being coated by the rollersshown in Figure 4. I

Figure 6 shows a fragment of a sheet coated longitudinally with adifferent arrangement of stripes.

Figure 7 indicates a cross sectional view of a finished shingle strip,slated on the coat 7 ing the rolls 24, 25.

Figure 14 is a perspective of a finished shingle strip of a differentshape.

Figure 15 is a diagram showing how the strips illustrated in Figure 14may be cut from the sheet.

Figure 16 is a side edge view of a series of laid strips showing how"the'successive courses engage one another.

Referring to the drawing in detail, 10 represents a roll of roofing basewhichmay be the usual felt or any other desired equivalent. As shown,the felt is passed through a bath 11 of waterproofing satur'ant, theexcess saturant being pressed therefrom by suitable rolls 12, 13 whichare usually heated.-

The sheet may then be cooled by any suitable means, indicated at 9 suchas a number of cooled rollers, refrigerating pipes chilled air, or anyother suitable means. l ts upper surface then may be coated as by aspout 14 with any suitable waterproofing compound, such, for exam le, asblown asphalt. This coating may be distributed by rolls 15 which alsoserve as a support to guide the sheet between rolls 16, 17 The lowerroller 17 is preferably made with an irregular periphery, as shown inFigures 1 and 2. The raised portions of the peripheryoare arranged topick up a layer of coating material from a suitable heated receptacle 18and to apply the same to the'under side of the moving sheet. Instead ofpicking up the coating maing roll 17 may receive it from a feeding rollinterposed between the roll 17 and the container so as to pick up a filmof coating material from the container and transfer it to the raisedareas of the roll 17. Theraised portions of the periphery are preferablyso shaped that the radii will have a minimum value at the median lines19 thereof, increasing graduallyltoward the edges 20. The roll minutedmaterial, such-as crushed slate- Re-' ccptacles 23 may be provided tocatch the excess slate falling from the sheet after pass- If it isdesired to slate the upper side only of the shingle, as in Figare 8, thecoating material 29 on the bottom of th shingle may be dusted with somesuitable finely divided material, such as powdered mica or tale toprevent sticking. In this type of shingle, the slating defines the upperor exposed side of the shingle, the tapering butt-thickening layer ofcoating being on the bottom of the shingle, or the side next to the roofwhen laid. The sheet may then terial directly fromthe container 18, thecoatment with respect to the sheet.

be passed between yieldingly mounted press rolls 26 to press thecomminuted material and embed it more firmly in the coating. The sheetis then ready to be slotted, if desired, and cut as indicated in Figure3 along the median lines 33, which are lines of maximum thickness of thecoating 34 and on lines 35 midway between the spaced bands or areas 34of the coating. The shingle strip thus produced will have a crosssection somewhat as indicated in Figures 7 and 8, these forms of shinglehaving a base 27 with a coating 28 of uniform thickness on the upperside and a coating 29 on the lower side which covers the butt only ofthe unit and tapers toward the head. If it is desired to cut the shinglestrips longitudinally instead of transversely as in Figure 3, the spacedareas of coating may be applied by a set of rolls such as are shown inFigure 4, wherein the upper roll 16 is c lindrical, the lower rolls .30,31,

32 being 0 frusto-conical or double frustoto their arrange- The slope onthe peripheries of these rollsas shown in Figure' 4 is somewhatexaggerated. Figure 5 shows a fragment of a sheet with bands of coating38, 39, 40 applied by such a combination of rolls as is shown in Figure4, the dotted linesshowing the lines of slittin 36 and cutting 37 toseparate the indiv1 ual shingle strips. It will be apparent that twoconical shape, "according rolls similar to the roll 31 may be usedinstead of rolls 30', with bands of coating Figure 6. I

If desired, the order of steps may be varied. For example, the sheet maybe slotted (and also slit if the sheet is to be cut as in Figures 5 and6) before the coating is applied or before it is passed into thesaturating tank. In either case, the coating fluid will enter the cutsand slits and will thus coat the edges, as well as the surfaces of thesheet' The strips illustrated in Figures 9 and 10 may be so treated.Figure 9 represents a pair of strips of roofing material which may havebeen slit from a wide sheet of indeterminate length. These strips may beconsidered as being shown bottom side upward, since the surfaceappearing in these figures is intended to lie next to the roof whenlaid, while the opposite surface is to be the exposed surface when laid.By applying the butt-thickening coating from above, a thicker coatingcan be applied than by operating from below. It is 31 and 32 to producea strip 4-1, 42, as illustrated in desirable to use sheet material whichis strong enough to be self-sustaining ever a sufficient span to receivethe coating'material Without a belt or carrier beneath the strip tosustain it as it passes the coating spout. Before reaching the conditionshown in Figure 9, the strips may have rated or unsaturated roofingfelt, slotted as at 49 of a slot 43 which coated. The final result maybe somewhat 2 receive a film of coating the front (now strips may beenslit from a sheet 10 of satu-.

43 by any suitable mechanism for the purpose, the same being well knownin the art, and separated slightly as at 44 to allow coating material toflow over the cut edges and to seal them- Then a band 45 of heavycoating may be applied to the butt portions of the strips as I bymechanism indicated in Figures Hand 12. The coating-material covers thebutt portions of the strips and flows over all the edges of the cut-outs43 and the butt edges of the strips, merging with the coating on thefront (now lower) side of the strip1 to form a complete t the strips asat 48, the part of the end of each unit to be exposed to the weatherbeing a side has been pre-cutand shown in Fig. 13, the rear side of thestrip being presented to view. Instead of the slots 43, the strip mayhave a zig-zag butt edge 50 as shown in Figure 14, these units being cutfrom the strip as indicated in Figure 15. The zigzag cutwhich may beused to form complemental strips in any one of a number of designspermits the coating of the butt portions of both strips with a band ofcoating material which is not much wider than the coated portion of oneof the strips. It also applies the coating material to widely spacedtabs in such a Way that only a very smal amount of the coating dropsthrough to be caught in the container below.

As shown in Figures 11 and 12, the pro-slit and slotted strip may be ledover a guide and supporting roll 15, after which a band of coating maybe applied as by a nozzle or spout 51 which may deposit the coatingdirectly on the strip or on a spreading roll 52. The spout 51 ispreferably 53 or other suitable means. As shown in Figure 12, the roll52 may be suitably shaped to spread the band of coating 45 in anydesired manner according to the shape of the periphery of the roll. Aroll 54 may be located below the roll 52 to support the strips. The roll54 may also be arranged to dip into a container 18 or otherwise materialto apply to under) face of the strips. After being coated by the rolls52, 54,- the strips may be led to surfacing devices as shown in Figure 1and her'embefore described. The coating of the front face of the beapplied, if desired, by means other than the roll 54, in which case thisroll may be used simply as a supporting rollto cooperate with the roll52 without touchin the coating material in the container 18. hen thusemployed, the roll 54 should be heated and rovided witn a suitablescraper to clean a golf t e excess coating material that flows throughthe cut-outs in and space between the'strips from the upper face coatingmechaanism.

Having thus described an embodiment of In this invention, it should beevident to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from its spirit orscope as defined by the appended claim. 15 I claim: a

A strip shingle comprising a base of felted sheet material havingtab-definin slots, a coating of waterproof-compound o substantiallyuniform thickness covering the entire a front surface of the stri acoating of waterproofing compound 0 tapering thickness coverin the uttportion only of the rear face 0 the strip, said rear face coating beingthickest at the butt edge of the strip,

5 a water roofing coat covering the butt edge an the slot edges anduniting with the front and rear coatings to envelope completely the buttportion of the shingle, and a ayer of grit adhering to and covering the3 coating on said front and rear faces and edges.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my sig nature.

FREDERICK C. OVERBURY.

